Genetic manipulation of acidophilic bacteria which are potentially applicable in coal beneficiation

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5902175

Roberto, F F; Glenn, A W; Bulmer, D; Bruhn, D F; Ward, T E

The economic and practical aspects of a biological coal desulfurization process are the subject of increasing study. Depyritization of coal by the bacterium Thiobacillus ferrooxidans has been known for some time and pilot scale experiments are underway. A number of limitations have already been recognized for this process, foremost of which is the speed with which the microorganisms grow and attack the pyritic sulfur. Metal toxicity and mass transfer dynamics also present formidable hurdles. Removal of organic sulfur substituents poses even more difficult problems at this time, not least of which is the leak of efficient candidate organisms. Potential candidates at this time resemble members of the Psedomonadaceae, common environmental bacteria. The various limitations in the microorganisms being examined for a viable desulfurization process have led us to initiate studies on the extension of molecular genetic techniques to acidophilic bacteria, with an ultimate goal of introducing desirable characteristics for desulfurization (enhanced growth rate, metal resistance, biochemical capacity to degrade organic sulfur) either directly into T. ferrooxidans, or, alternatively, into a heterotrophic acidophile which can coexist in the same environment as T. ferrooxidans. We are focusing on members of the genus Acidiphilium, one such acidophilic heterotroph. 22 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.

• Research Organization: EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-76ID01570
• OSTI ID: 5902175
• Report Number(s): EGG-M-90121; CONF-910846-1; ON: DE91006141
• Resource Relation: Conference: American Chemical Society (ACS) Fuels Division meeting, Washington, DC (USA), 26-31 Aug 1991
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BACTERIA
GENETIC ENGINEERING
COAL
DESULFURIZATION
BIOTECHNOLOGY
HYBRIDIZATION
PLASMIDS
THIOBACILLUS FERROXIDANS
BACILLUS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CELL CONSTITUENTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MATERIALS
MICROORGANISMS
SULFUR-OXIDIZING BACTERIA
010402* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Purification & Upgrading
550700 - Microbiology